In October an element of the 3d Reconnaissance Battalion, 3d Marine Division, operating from ships of the Seventh Fleet, conducted an extensive survey of Cam Ranh Bay in southern II Corps. The purpose of its survey was to determine the feasibility of establishing a naval facility. Marine counterintelligence teams from FMFPac also were temporarily assigned to MACV for 30-day periods throughout the year. These officers and noncommissioned officers normally augmented the U.S. Army 704th Counterintelligence Unit during their stay in Vietnam. Another group of Marines to employ their skills in the counterinsurgency environment was a small Special Operations Group of six officers and 21 enlisted men. These Marines conducted operations under the auspices of MACV. A more permanent influx of Marines into the war-torn republic occurred in the last quarter of the year. In response to the intensified advisory effort ordered by Secretary McNamara in July, General Greene, the new Marine Commandant, assured the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the Marines could be expected to carry their share of the increased burden. Shortly thereafter, the Marine Corps was directed to provide 60 officers and noncommissioned officers to serve as advisors with ARVN units in I Corps Tactical Zone. These orders, later described by Major Damm, the Assistant Senior Marine Advisor to the VNMC as “very short fused ones,” were executed without delay.[10-9] The 3d Marine Division was given short notice to select suitable personnel and to transfer them immediately to ComUSMACV. In response to these instructions, the Okinawa-based command quickly formed four advisory teams, each composed of four men--a captain, a first lieutenant, a gunnery sergeant, and a corporal (who was to serve as the team’s radio operator). Accompanied by Major John W. Walker, the first increment of Marine advisors was airlifted to Da Nang by KC-130 in mid-September. Upon reporting to the I Corps Senior U.S. Advisor, Colonel Howard B. St. Clair, U.S. Army, the four teams were broken up, the Marines being assigned individually to battalions of the 1st and 2d ARVN Divisions. Major Walker joined the I Corps advisory staff in Da Nang as assistant operations officer. The balance of the 60 new Marine advisors were formed into teams on Okinawa and airlifted to Da Nang in the ensuing weeks. By December the advisors, who had initially been drawn from the 3d Marine Division, were being replaced gradually by officers and noncommissioned officers just beginning their normal 12-month overseas tours.